Manufacture of yarns



g- 4, 1942- w. 1. TAYLOR ETAL 2,291,774

MANUFACTURE OF YARNS Filed May 21, 1940 mvemon' 28 LB mams Patented Aug. 4, 1942 2,291,174 MANUFACTURE or YARNS William Ivan Taylor, Leslie Brisbane Gibbins, and

Angus Smith Bell, Spondon, near Derby, England, assignors to Celancse Corporation of America, a corporation of Delaware Application May 21, 1940, Serial No. 336,326 In Great Britain June 9, 1939 Claims.

This invention relates to the manufacture of yarns, and in particular to the production ofstaplised yarns, i. e. yarns having a basis of continuous filaments, but with some at least of the filaments converted into staple fibre.

The invention is particularly concerned with a staplising operation of the type described and claimed in U. S. Patent No. 1,956,600, according to which a travelling continuous filamentary bundle describes a surface of rotation, cutting of filaments in the bundle being effected during its passage through such surface.

According to the present invention a method of producing staplised yarn comprises causing a bundle of continuous filaments while travelling in the direction of its length to pass through an abrasive tube and to describe a surface of revolution'conflned by said tube whereby the filaments in said bundle are subjected by their contact with said tube to a cutting action that severs the filaments without breaking the continuity of the bundle as a whole.

The operation may be'carried out during upward or downward twisting. In the former case, the bundle ballooning from the package is drawn upwards through the abrasive tube, which conveniently may form a lappet guide from which the staplised material proceeds to a simple takeup mechanism. Similarly, in performing the operation during downward twisting the abrasive tube may form a lappet guide from which the ballooning yarn proceeds to the package on the twisting spindle, for example a ring twisting spindle.

The abrasive tube may conveniently be formed of an abrasive wheel of the type used for internal grinding, the bore of the tube by which the wheel is ordinarily secured to the grinding spindle serving as the opening through which the bundle is threaded. For example, the wheel may have an outside diameter of half an inch and a bore of a quarter of an inch, the length (face) being say half an inch or one inch. Abrasives of different fineness of grain may be used, in accordance with the cutting efiect desired, the weight of the bundle under treatment, and the denier of the filaments in the bundle. The tu bular block of abrasive may be carried in a tube or clamp having an arm by which it is secured to the usual pivot of a lappet guide, so that it may be lifted for removal of the bobbin or other package.

The operation may be carried out on single yarns or on double yarns; in the latter case,

the staplising may be effected on filaments throughout the whole yarn or may be varied knots, slubs, and spirals, may also be subjected to the staplising operation, For example, a pair of threads may befed at different speeds downwards to a ring twisting spindle through an abrasive lappet guide, the staplising. action being largely confined to the effect thread as it is doubled about the base thread. A binding thread may afterwards be applied.

In downward twisting onto a pirn or like package it is sometimes advisable to reduce the twisting speed somewhat as the length of the package builds up in order to maintain substantial uniformity of the staplising action. this purpose the twisting spindles may be controlled by means of an infinitely variable, gear,

- preferably of the positive type.

In addition to relying on the ballooning of the thread to sever filaments in the thread by the bore of the abrasive tube, the tube itself may ment, will now be described be caused to rotate, in the same direction as that of the balloon or oppositely thereto,' at any desired speed, for example by driving the tube as is indicated in U. S. Patent No. 1,959,142.

Two forms of apparatus according to the present invention, and the meg 19d? their employgreater detail with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which:

.Figures 1 and 2 are a front elevation and a side elevation respectively of one form of apparatus for carrying out the invention.

Figure- 3 is a diagrammatic representation of the drive to the apparatus shown in Figures 1 and 2. v

Figure 4 illustrates aafurtherform of apparatus according to the invention, and

Figure 5 shows yet another form of apparatus according to the invention.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2, yarns l, 2, each consisting of a bundle of continuous filaments, are drawn from supply packages 3 mounted in a creel i, the yarns I being drawn by means of feedrollers 5 to which they are conducted by a yarn guide 6, while the yarns 2 are drawn by means of a pair of feed rollers l through a guide 8. The feed rollers '5 are driven with a higher peripheral speed-than the feed rollers i slotted member it] where they are joined by the between several components by appropriately adjusting the amounts of twist, a higher twist in one component reducing the staplising action on that component. Fancy yarns, e. g. boucl, spots,

yarns 2. The member to is mounted on an adjustable arm it (Figure 2) pivoted about the guide rod 9.

spinning device comprises, in addition'to the tube l2 and spindle [13, a whorl itand tape it for For driving the spindle l3, and a ring l6 and traveller I! mounted on a ring rail I9. The yarns l and 2 are conducted to the ring-spinning device by means of a balloon or lappet guide in the form of a tube I9 of abrasive material, e.'g. carborundum or the like. The tube I9 is mounted, as is usual in lappet guides, on an arm 26 pivoted at 2| to a guide rail 22.

As the spindle I3 is rotated, the yarns! and 2 form a balloon 23 around the spindle, the balloon 23 being controlled at its upper end by means of the abrasive tube I9.-- As a consequence, as the yarn I, 2 pass together through the bore of the tube l9, they are subjected to a cutting action that severs the filaments thereof without breaking the continuity of the product as a whole. Since the yarnl is fed faster than the yarn 2, it forms a loose spiral outside the yarn 2, which acts as the base thread. As a consequence, the cutting action of the abrasive tube I9 is exerted on the filaments of the yarn I and not on those of the base yarn 2. As a subsequent separate operation, the final product collected on the tube I2 may be doubled with a further yarn, preferably of continuous filaments, forming a binding yarn about the product.

As the yarn builds up on the tube l2, the form of the balloon 23 tends to change. In order to avoid any substantial variation in the cutting effect arising from a change of form of the balloon, it is desirable that the spindles l3 should be driven at a speed diminishing throughout the twisting operation as the packages build up on the tubes l2. For this purpose, as shown in Figure '3, the drive to the spindles [3 may be effected through an infinitely variable gear box indicated at 26. The drive is taken from the motor 21 to the gear box 26 by means of a chain 28 from the gearbox 26 to a drum 29 driving the tapes l by a chain indicated at30. The speed at which the drum 29 and consequently the spindles l3 are driven may be varied continuously by means of the control 3| of the gear box 26. Figure 4 shows a form of apparatus in which the abrasive tube employed in accordance with the present invention is used in an upwardtwisting device. The device comprises a spindle 32, on which is mounted a bobbin 33 of continuous filaments, the spindle 32 being driven by means of a whorl 34 and belt 35. A bundle of continuous filaments is drawn over the end or the rapidly rotating bobbin 33, forming a balloon 36 which is controlled at the top by passin through an abrasive tube 31. The'bundle proceeds from the tube 31 to a take-up device. 38 by means of which it is wound on a bobbin 39. Th tube 31 is rotated by means of a belt 40, driven by means of awheel 4i, and the rotation of the balloon 36 and the tube 31 together bring about a'relative motion by means of which the abrasive tube 31, or rather, the internal abrasive edges thereof, exent a cutting action that severs the filaments without breaking the continuity of the bundle as a whole. By adjusting the speed and direction of rotation of the tube 31, the degree of the staplising action may be adjusted.

igure 5 shows a form of apparatus in which a rotating abrasive tube, as in Figure 4, is employed in connection with a ring-spinning-device of the kind shown in Figures 1-3. In this figure, as in Figure 3, the yarn proceeds downwards to a ring-spinning device IS, IT, I8 by means or guided to the traveller ll by means of a stationary guide like the guide I 9 of Figure 3, the yarn passes through an abrasive tube 42 which is rotated, like the tube 31 of Figure 4, by means of a pulley l3 and a belt 44.

Having described our invention, what we desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Method of producing staplized yarns comprising feeding a bundle of continuous filaments through an abrasive tube to a rapidly rotating package whereby said tube acts as a balloon guide for a balloon formed of said bundle and rotating about said package, and diminishing the speed of rotation of said package as said package builds up so as to maintain the size of said balloon and the degree of cutting action of said abrasive tube on the filaments in said bundle substantially con-.

stant.

2. Method of producing staplized yarns comprising feeding a plurality of ends, at least one of which is a bundle of continuous filaments and is fed faster than the remainder, through an abrasive tube to a rapidly rotating package, whereby said tube acts as a balloon guide to a balloon of said ends rotating about said package and exerts a staplizing action mainly confined to said bundle of filaments, and diminishing the speed of rotation of said package as said package builds up so as to maintain the size of said balloon and the degree of cutting action of said abrasive tube on the filaments in said bundle substantially constant.

3. Method of producing staplized yarns comprising feeding a plurality of ends, at least one of which is a bundle of continuous filaments and is fed faster than the remainder, through an abrasive tube to a rapidly rotating package, whereby said tube acts as a balloon guide to a balloon of said ends rotating aboutsaid package and exerts a staplizing action mainly confined to said bundle of filaments, diminishing the speed of rotation of said package as said package builds up so as to maintain the size of said balloon and the degree of cutting action of said abrasive tube on the filaments in said bundle substantially constant, and as a subsequent operation, doubling the staplized yarns with a bindlng thread.

4. Apparatus for the production of staplized yarn, comprising a downward twisting device, an abrasive tube constituting a balloon'guide for a bundle of continuous filaments proceeding to the- I action of said abrasive tube on the filaments subwhich it is wound on a tube l2. Instead of being stantially constant.

Apparatus for the production of staplized yarn, comprising a downward twisting device, an

abrasive tube constituting a balloon guide for a bundle of continuous filaments proceeding to the rotating package of the device, means for rotating. said abrasive tube about its axis and means for reducing the speed of rotation of the package during the twisting operation so as to maintain the size of the balloon and the degree of cutting action of said abrasive tube on the filaments substantially constant.

WILLIAM IVAN TAYLOR.- LESLIE BRISBANE GIBBINS. ANGUS SMITH BELL. 

